UNDP in Papua New Guinea

Advance MapInfo training completed successfully

08 Apr 2013

GIS training for geological hazard mitigation

An advance MapInfo training was conducted from the 8th – 19th April, 2013 under the “Disaster Risk Management Mainstreaming Program for Papua New Guinea” which is jointly implemented by UNDP, SOPAC and National Disaster Centre of Papua New Guinea. The main objective of the training was to provide participants with an overview of the potential benefits of using Geographical Information System (GIS) for disaster risk management and other potential applications.

A total of 15 participants from various departments were trained in advance MapInfo. Officers from Rabaul Volcanic Observatory, Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory and Engineering Geology Branch benefited from the training. These three agencies are part the Department of Mineral Policy and Geo-hazards Management which is lead agency for the monitoring and mitigation of geological hazards in Papua New Guinea. Officers from the Forecasting Branch of National Weather Service and Department of Lands and Physical Planning also participated in the training.

The topics covered during the two weeks training included;

Digitization and importing of information from reports and Excel files

Analysis of spatial and attribute information from different data sources

Buffering and working with objects

Selecting and Querying Data

Use hotlink to link digital documents and photos to a map

Exporting data to GIS maps and maps derived from Google Earth

The officers who attended the training had different levels of exposure and skill sets in the use of MapInfo. However, at the end of the training the trainers gained good knowledge in the application of the tool and were confident to apply the newly acquired skills to undertake the crucial task of hazard monitoring and mapping within their respective agencies. On the last day of the training, the UN Resident Coordinator, David McLachlan-Karr presented the course completion certificates to the participants.

This training builds on the previous training program that was conducted in the year 2010 to the introductory MapInfo.